Finding Father Time
by Jinx2016
Summary: "Where is Sherlock?" There it was. The question John had dreaded to hear from those lips. John knew he had to tell The Doctor. He deserved to know after all. With a shaky breath John met his old friend's gaze, feeling the tears burn his eyes and blur his vision. "He's dead."/ WhoLock!


_**Finding Father Time**_

"_Are you really a babysitter?" Those had been the first words John had said to the madman in front of him dressed in a bow tie. His parents were out with Harry so that left John stuck back at home with the new sitter. It was funny. He had just popped right out of the blue. The sitter simply smiled at John_

"_No, I'm not really a baby sitter, but you don't want a real one. You want me," he stated, pulling himself close to John's face. John looked into the man's eyes, flinching as he heard a rock hit the window. _

"_Why?" John questioned. The Doctor pulled away and approached the window, stepping through to see a boy with curly black hair, staring up at him. "What's so special about you?" John continued to say, but The Doctor wasn't paying him any mind. He was too busy watching the lad down in the snowy sheet covered sidewalk. The curly haired boy hesitated for a second, but then waved them down, urging for the new sitter and John to follow. The Doctor smirked and-_

John bolted up in his bed, eyes going wide as the dream/memory slowly began to fade. He let out ragged breaths. He opened his mouth to shout out, but stopped himself. There was no one to shout out to, not anymore. He slumped back into his pillows, forcing back the tears that already stained his cheeks and reddened his eyes. Three years; it feels more like a decade. He can't take the pain any more. Every night the memories fly through him in his dreams and every night they become more and more painful. A life without his best friend is worse than anything he had ever faced in the past and now he can only see his true friend in the most painful of memories. What makes it worse is that _he_ didn't know. A man who had ran with them on adventures and cared for them more than anyone else had. John would have told him, but there were no ways of communicating with him. He just sort of showed up.

* * *

Meanwhile, deep in space a madman stood in his time machine with his two newest companions. They were on their way to a distant planet and were settling with some tea when a burning sensation seared the man's chest where his heart should be.

"OW!" He spun around in surprise, holding his hand to the place where it burned. What was this? Was something wrong with his hearts? Did Rory accidently use an alien poison instead of the tea leaves? No, that's impossible. He didn't carry poison on his time machine and no alien poison appeared as tea leaves. Then what was it? He lifted his hand into his coat, fingers gripping the sonic paper that burned with life. He stared at the paper, finding that it was a message from a very old friend. His heart warmed at the sight of the name written there, but it fell instantly. The only reason the sonic paper would have reacted that way would mean…oh dear. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong with his old friend. He turned his head as his two companions asked what the matter was and he shouted simply over his shoulder, "We're making a house call."

* * *

John sat in his chair silently as the rain tapped at the windows. It was another gloomy day in London. Well, every day seemed gloomy to John now. He stared out into the distance, letting memories of his time with his best friend pass through his mind. He was so lost in the memories that when the strange sound of an old time machine echoed from the corner of the room he just thought he was day dreaming. It was when a man in a bow tie came strolling out with that gleeful expression on his bright face that John finally realized _he_ had come. The Doctor had returned to him in his darkest hour. He watched as The Doctor's face turned slowly to a worried glow and the ancient eyes drifted around the flat to see the state of the dusty old place that used to be called home.

"John, John what happened?" The Doctor asked, approaching John's chair. John held up a hand, stopping his old sitter with the shaking hand. The Doctor looked him over with a pitied stare and John knew that it was because he was close to tears. The Doctor licked his lips, glancing around the room again. "Where is Sherlock?" There it was. The question John had dreaded to hear from those lips. John knew he had to tell The Doctor. He deserved to know after all. With a shaky breath John met his old friend's gaze, feeling the tears burn his eyes and blur his vision.

"He's dead," John spoke in a hoarse voice. The Doctor's face fell into shock and his eyes widened as he stared at the man he had run with.

"Say that again," The Doctor said, looking as though he couldn't believe the words leaving John's mouth. John turned his face away, squeezing his eyes shut as the tears threatened his eyes again. That's when he heard a loud crash. He looked up, to see that some papers had fell to the floor. He whipped his head around for the cause, but found a sight he wished he didn't have to witness. The Doctor was dashing from room to room, shouting for Sherlock. The tears fell freely now down John's face as The Doctor slammed doors and cried out at the top of his lungs. Sherlock wasn't going to come to The Doctor's call this time. He never would ever again.

Slowly, John got up from his seat and found his way into Sherlock's bedroom. The Doctor was staring into the empty room, breathing heavy. When he heard John come in he spun around, revealing the wet eyes of the weary time travel John had followed his entire life.

"Doctor-"

"No, stop it," The Doctor hissed in a cruel hating voice, stepping back. "Stop it right now!" John bit his tongue as he watched the many emotions pass through his friend's face as he struggled with the death of the detective they both had loved. The old Time Lord wiped his hands over his face, body shaking slightly with the shock of it all. John wanted to reach out to him, but he let The Doctor have his space. When Sherlock had died that was all John wanted from those around him. He didn't want to hear how sorry they were or how Sherlock had been a good mean. He knew what they all really thought. They all thought he was a lie; a FAKE! No, that wasn't true. Sherlock may have said it himself, but John knew deep down that was wrong. They had been friends since childhood and he knew Sherlock better than anyone.

When The Doctor finally looked up his face was full of determination. "Don't worry, John. I won't let this happen. I promise you I'll fix this," he declared, running past John and towards the TARDIS. John followed him, eyes wide in confusion.

"Doctor, what are you talking about?! He's dead!" John cried. The Doctor turned then, winking at John cleverly.

"Not on my watch!"

* * *

The Doctor disappeared into the TARDIS, flicking up switches and pulling levers. The TARDIS shook as it disappeared and sent the old Time Lord across the room. When the TARDIS finally stopped, he flicked a switch and looked to the wall of the TARDIS, where he could see what was occurring outside. He watched as Sherlock spread his arms wide and fell from the rooftop of St. Bartholomew's. The Doctor stared at the slowly falling figure with wide eyes, memories of the little boy he once knew flying through his mind.

_He and John stood outside; staring up into the sky as snow slowly fell. John was dressed in his pajamas, but he didn't complain about the cold. Sherlock ran down a road, surrounded by snow covered statues… _

The Doctor shook himself from the memories and walked back into the present. No, he wasn't going to let all those memories go to waste like this. Flipping some switches he had the TARDIS materialize against the building where Sherlock would fall. The madman threw himself into the doors, thrusting them open and pleaded that he had been quick enough. He watched as Sherlock came plummeting into the TARDIS, splashing into the safety of the pool. The Doctor watched as John stared in surprise at the TARDIS and The Doctor swiftly closed the doors. As quickly as he could he materialized back on the street and Sherlock stepped out of the TARDIS. Luckily, The Doctor still kept some of his old clothes from when he used to travel along. The two men stared at each other from a distance. Tear tracks were still present on Sherlock's face from the conversation he and John had just had on the phone and looked all to nervous and leery to approach his best friend. At least The Doctor was there to give him a small push. Gently, the Doctor pressed his hand against the detective's back. Sherlock glanced back and the old Time Lord shook his head.

"Everything will be fine, Sherlock," he whispered just soft enough for the younger man to hear. Sherlock nodded gratefully and turned his gaze back to John, who was waiting for him patiently. Without another second of hesitation Sherlock burst into a run towards John and pulled him into an embrace. John held him back tightly, whispering something to Sherlock. Whether he was asking why Sherlock had tried to kill himself or whether he was trying to calm his friend The Doctor did not know. John and Sherlock were pulled apart and smiling at each other now and The Doctor felt his heart warm, knowing that now John did not have to feel the pain he had before. His best friend and detective was safe in his arms now. Amy bounded over to his side. She had been hiding out with Rory in the TARDIS during the whole ordeal to give the three men some space, but now here she was; a smile spread across her face and a twinkle in her eye as they watched the two smiling detectives walk their way back towards Baker Street. The Doctor turned away from them, making his way back to the TARDIS.

"So is that how it works, Doctor? Amy called out to him from a distance; Rory was standing a ways away to give them some space. The Doctor turned to face his companion. "You never interfere with the affairs of other people or planets, unless there are children crying," she summed up. Again, the Doctor's mind traveled back to the boys he had spent his days running into adventures with. Watching as Sherlock came running through a crowd, reaching out until John locked his fingers with the curly haired boy and pulled him into the TARDIS. He could hear them now.

"_Times up kids!" he called, snapping his fingers and flipping a switch before turning back to the two boys. John was standing in the doorway, watching as fish flew through the sky and weaved gracefully through the clouds._

"_Why?" John whined; face falling as he stepped away from the doors and allowed them to swing shut. He shared a disappointed look with Sherlock, who had been looking over the time machine eagerly. _

"Doctor!" John and Sherlock of the present shouted, breaking The Doctor from his vision. He glanced up at the two, watching as they waved at him in attempt to try and make him stay or wait for them, but he could do neither. With a deep sigh he closed the doors to his time machine, ignoring the calls and cries from his two companions and Sherlock and John.

* * *

John and Sherlock called out to their friend, but he was gone. It was too late. The old man was gone. Sharing a look they dashed to the nearest payphone and John typed in the number. He prayed that this time The Doctor would pick up. Little did he know The Doctor was watching sadly as the they pleaded for him to come back so they could pick up where they had left off. He lowered his head, shaking it slightly. He had done something he never should have done. Sherlock was supposed to die that day and he hadn't. He had altered their time line and if he saw them again it could risk the destruction of the new time line they were living happily in. He couldn't ruin that over his own selfishness to see them again could he?

"_So why are you so interested in the fish?" The Doctor asked as he and John sat in the bedroom, waiting for a fish to come swimming out._

"_When you've eliminated the impossible whatever remains however improbable must be the truth," a younger Sherlock stated simply as he fiddled with some odd experiment of his. _

"_Good answer," The Doctor mumbled, realizing that he was speaking to the future greatest detectives of the world. _

The memories switched again. This time he was leaning against the doorway as Sherlock paced his room, looking rather upset.

"_I'm sorry," he had said. I didn't realize…"_

"_It's broken!" Sherlock cried, throwing one of his experiments into the wall. John jumped back in surprise by how upset his friend was and watched with his mouth agape. _

"_Better a broken heart then no heart at all," The Doctor stated as Sherlock continued to cry out and shout. Sherlock slumped into his chair, running a hand through his raven black hair. Tears stained his cheeks as he stared into the distance._

"_You don't understand," Sherlock said softly. John and The Doctor lowered their head as they watched the boy. "I thought…" Sherlock sniffled silently. "That I wouldn't be so alone."_

The Doctor ran a hand across his face as he remembered that night. The night he said it was time to leave. He had needed their help a long time ago. An alien gear had accidently been used to fix Big Ben and if it struck twelve the noise from the bell would be amplified loud enough to cause the surface of the world to crack open. The two boys of course had been thrilled to go on the adventure. They had two choices: climb up to the face of the giant clock and switch the alien gear with the correct one or travel back in time and make sure the right one was used. They had gone in time of course…

The Doctor shook his head. Wait…no…yes…no. He held his head in his hands, shaking slightly. What was going on? The memory was changing. Why? He closed his eyes, watching the new memory.

_Sherlock climbed up onto the face of Big Ben. John watched from the small entrance Sherlock had climbed through to get onto the face. Sherlock pulled the gear from the spot it was stuck, tossing it to John. That's when everything went wrong. The throw had caused Sherlock to lose his balance and now the small boy was dangling from the face of Big Ben, only seconds from falling_.

"_Get Help!" Sherlock cried, clutching onto the hand of the large clock in terror as his eyes scanned the perilous fall he would be forced to endure. John nodded, shouting for Sherlock to hang on and dashed down corridors and streets, calling out for the madman who was nowhere to be seen. _

The Doctor snapped from the memory, breathing heavy. No, that never happened! What was happening?

He stopped, glaring up at the TARDIS as it hummed lightly. His hearts drummed against his ribs as he realized what was happening.

"You can't do this!" The Doctor cried out at her. "He's only a child!" He listened as the TARDIS hummed back to him and his hearts clenched even tighter. "I know that he was supposed to die, but please, not now! Not before he even had a chance!" he cried out. The TARDIS didn't budge and The Doctor lowered his head. "Please…let him live. I know I messed up time, but don't take it out on him," he begged. Silence was thick between the time machine and The Doctor. This was what he got for messing with time, but it didn't have to be like this. The TARDIS was just trying to fix the wound made by saving Sherlock from his doom so that The Doctor could still see them. He was grateful for the thought, but there had to be another way and if there wasn't he didn't want this.

After what seemed like hours, the TARDIS flipped her own switches and blasted off. The Doctor held on tight as they flew through time and space, a smile spreading across his teary face. "Thank you, Sexy!" he cried out.

* * *

The TARDIS doors opened up and he was greeted by John, who was looking around frantically.

"Doctor!" he cried, embracing his friend. "Sh…Sherlock…he…he slipped! I…I could find you. I thought…" The Doctor held him back and then looked into John's eyes, stopping the child mid-sentence.

"We need to help Sherlock," he whispered softly. John nodded, taking The Doctor's hand and they ran. They ran down close spaces and shuffled up stairs till they came to the opening to get onto the face of the large clock. The Doctor and John poked their heads through the opening to see Sherlock struggling to hold on in the icy weather. It was cold and Sherlock's fingers were beginning to get numb. He didn't have long.

"Sherlock!" John cried out to his friend, holding out a hand. Sherlock turned his face to look at them, fear in his eyes. The Doctor held his hand out next.

"Come on Sherlock, grab my hand!" he cried. The boy hesitantly began to pull his hand from where he was holding on for dear life, but as he began to fall he wrapped his arms back around it again, refusing to move.

"What do we do?" John cried, watching as Sherlock struggled more and more to keep his grip. The Doctor took in a deep breath, holding his hand out a little farther to the young detective.

"Sherlock, listen to me!" he shouted. The boy didn't move, but The Doctor kept on talking. "You don't have to be alone. Not ever again! You have us now and we will always come when you call." Sherlock looked up at that and held The Doctor's gaze.

"Promise me? Promise you will always come back," Sherlock called out over the wind as it smacked at his small body. The Doctor paused for a moment. If he went back to see Sherlock and John he could danger that time line, but…a promise was a promise and since when did he do what he was supposed to anyway?

"I promise you, Sherlock," The Doctor answered. Sherlock stared into his eyes a long while before flinging himself from his hold on the hands of the clock and into The Doctor's and John's arms. They pulled the boy to safety, shutting the door to the outside shut. John hugged Sherlock tight, pleading to him never to do that again and Sherlock nodded, smiling up at The Doctor the entire time. The Doctor smiled back and escorted the boys into the Tardis, popping them back into John's room.

"AMAZING!" he exclaimed. "You are marvelous!" The Doctor cried, kissing the controls of his time machine. The boys watched The Doctor as he spun around in excitement, not understanding the reason for his enthused actions. The TARDIS had taken the time energy that had shattered from younger Sherlock's twice altered history and was now using it to patch up the wound in future Sherlock's time line. This act had made this time line more delicate and more dangerous to visit Sherlock and John again date again, but the boys' future was free for him to visit.

"Doctor when do we start our next adventure?" Sherlock asked. The Doctor grinned. For me; now. For you; you will have to wait and see! In the meantime…" He tossed a watch into John's hands and the boys peered at it. "This will glow when I return," he told them. The boys nodded, stepping out of the TARDIS and waving goodbye to their friend.

* * *

John and Sherlock gasped in surprise at the glowing watch in John's palm. It was him. He was coming back! Not wasting a second they ran from Baker Street, bolting down the alleyway. They could hear the TARDIS. They could recognize that beautiful sound anytime and anywhere. Memories pounded against their skulls as they ran, remembering their adventures with the madman and his blue box.

"_Do you want to have an adventure?" Sherlock asked The Doctor. The Time Lord turned to the smiling boy and nodded._

"_We can do that!" he announced._

"_Well, aren't you going to tell me it's dangerous?" John questioned, knowing already the answer he would receive._

"_Dangerouse?! Dangerouse?! Come on, we're boys!" The Doctor shouted, patting John's head and heading back to his TARDIS. _

"_That's how you know it's an adventure," Sherlock said, following The Doctor to the TARDIS. Once they were in The Doctor glanced up at the screen on the TARDIS, smiling to himself and the boys._

Sadly, they were too late. The TARDIS disappeared right when they turned the corner. They stared into the empty alley, shaking their heads. Well, at least they knew he was alright. Why he had just disappeared after rescuing Sherlock was a mystery to them, but they were sure he had a good reason. It's just…he had promised that he would always be there for them when they needed him and he had kept his promise in the past. Why wasn't he now? With a quick dash back around the corner the two returned homes, leaning against the wall just below the stairs. They laughed with one another as they tried to catch their breath, trying to keep up their spirits. Sherlock was abot to say they should try and get some rest, but stopped when he saw the watch glow in John's back pocket. A smirk flowed over his pale face then and he shook his head.

"It was a long shot anyway," Sherlock puffed. John turned his head to the side.

"Says who?" he questioned his friend. Sherlock smiled at him, nodding towards the door.

"Says the man at the door." John turned as a knock came from their door, frowning in confusion and pulled it open. He felt his mouth hit the floor as he stared at the man in front of him. He had come back. Just like he had promised them. There in the doorway stood The Doctor, ready for a whole new adventure.

* * *

**This is based off a kid!WhoLock YouTube video called 'Kid!WhoLock – Finding Father Time' by NewMoonInTheSummers. All credit goes to her. After watching the video I couldn't help myself. It was just too awesome and my mind wanted to write it up. I hope it wasn't too confusing to follow and that you all enjoyed it. Copy the link to watch the video:** watch?v=khonrDZQVO8


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